


Pumpkin Spice Season

by shinymaddy



Category: Game Grumps, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Halloween, Mark Fischbach - Freeform, Markiplier - Freeform, markiplier/reader - Freeform, markiplier/you - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-06
Updated: 2015-11-06
Packaged: 2018-04-30 09:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5158124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinymaddy/pseuds/shinymaddy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You, Markiplier, and the Game Grumps join in some haunted Halloween festivities. Lots of fluff and cliches, but what else do you expect from fanfiction? Markiplier/You</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pre-Game

**Author's Note:**

> I just really wanted to write a fluffy, romantic Markiplier fanfic around Halloween.  
> I had intended to have this posted before Halloween, but I didn't know AO3 would put me on a waitlist to join the site. Oh well. Better late than never.

Finally, it was autumn. Or as I mockingly liked to call it: Pumpkin Spice-everything season. Despite my disdain for pumpkin-spice flavored everything, I loved the weather. Long, hot summer days had been replaced with shorter, mild days that gave way to crisp, cool nights. Autumn was without a doubt my favorite season. It was Halloween and my friends thought it would be a great idea to go out to a haunted corn maze that night. Having been in my fair share of haunted mazes, they never really spooked me because they’d all had a strict no-touching-customers rule. Sure, they got really up in your personal space, but already knowing they can’t physically affect you really dulled the experience in my opinion.

“Oh, just you wait, (Y/N). This place is different.” One of my friends, Miranda, grinned mischievously at me as she wrapped an arm around my shoulder. I rolled my eyes.

“What, are they going to point out where all the scary bits are in the maze to save us time?” I grumbled as we picked through costumes at a specialty shop. She pushed me away playfully and rolled her eyes back at me.

“No, you negative-Nancy.” She picked out an Egyptian/Cleopatra costume as my other friend rounded the aisle to meet back up with us.  
“Then what’s so special about this one?” I folded my arms across my chest and tilted my hips stubbornly. Natasha, who held in her hands a peacock-colored sequined dress, joined the conversation over my shoulder.

“They don’t have a no-touching rule.” She was grinning as wildly as Miranda, and I gave them both an intrigued look.

“There are still boundary rules, of course. It’s not like they go around assaulting people or anything. The scarers go as far as you’re comfortable with. If you just say the ‘safe word,’ they will stop interacting with you and move on.” Miranda explained. I nodded my head in tentative approval.

“Alright…you have piqued my curiosity. Sounds better than nothing, anyway. Who’s all going?” I asked, skimming my hands over the costumes as I walked down the aisle.

“The Grumps arranged the whole thing. And Mark will be going too!” Natasha said the last bit in a singsong voice. Natasha had put emphasis on Mark’s name because she knows I have a huge crush on him. She’s told me time and again that it’s mutual, and I just roll my eyes at her. My hand settled on a mid-thigh length midnight-blue velvet dress. The skirt was trimmed in the classic Halloween zig-zag style, and had tight half-length sleeves and a low scooping collar.

“Nice! It’s been a while since we’ve hung out, it’ll be fun catching up.” I said, ignoring her teasing about Mark. I slung the dress over my shoulder.

Since we all had dresses picked out, we headed to the dressing rooms. After a quick try-on, we were all satisfied with our costume selections. Grabbing a few key accessories for each of our costumes, we made our purchases and left the store. We made our way back to Mir’s place where her husband greeted us cheerily. After an afternoon of preparation, and several glasses of white wine, we were all dolled up in our costumes and ready to go.

We fondly reminisced our favorite times of being at GrumpSpace as we drove the short distance to meet up with everyone. The three of us met the Grumps at a convention, and after lengthy discussion of our channels and collaboration opportunities, became frequent guests on one another’s YouTube channels. And since Mark filmed his videos at GrumpSpace, there was recurrent friendly banter between myself and him, often on the border of flirting. 

Once at GrumpSpace, we started to pre-game for our haunted maze experience. Arin, of course, was a DD, because he doesn’t like drinking. Soon, everyone was almost unreasonably friendly and decently buzzed.

“Arin, thanks again for being DD!” Natasha exclaimed with a giggle, throwing an arm around his shoulder in appreciation. He smiled back.

“Not a prob! Driving is a small price to pay for the endless entertainment I’ll be watching tonight.” Giving Natasha a quick side-hug, he broke away to tend to a tipsy Suzy, who was dressed as faun (complete with makeup from the tutorial on her channel). Dan was laughing uncontrollably with Mir and her husband, Ryan, while Ross and Holly joined Arin and Suzy. Mark wasn’t here yet, but that was fine. I made my way over to join in on Mir, Ryan, and Dan’s conversation.

“‘What is up-dog?’ Oh my God I can’t believe you fell for that, Dan.” Mir giggled as Ryan simply grinned and shook his head at the joke.

“(Y/N)! Yaaay come join us!” a heavily tipsy Dan exclaimed loudly. As I came within his reach, he threw his long arms around me, knocking my witch hat right off my head. I made a noise of protest at his messing up my costume.

“Daaaan! Quit it, you knocked my hat off! You’ve obviously had enough libations until the maze.” He nuzzled his face into my hair in refusal; his arms were firmly locked around me, and I blew a stray hair out of my eyes since my arms were firmly secured at my sides.

“Daniel Sexbang, you release me right meow!” I squeaked, wriggling under his iron hug.

“NOOoooo…” Danny mumbled into my hair, his lips barely brushing against my neck. I was often on the receiving end of Danny’s affections (drunk or not), and tonight was no exception. I rolled my eyes and felt myself begin to blush. I heard a deep chuckle from behind me, and a tall, handsome figure moved into view.

Mark was wearing his lucky flannel, with plain denim jeans and suspenders. He had a red beanie on to hide the pink of his locks, heavy-looking brown boots, and hefted a fake axe in one hand. The other held my hat.

“Dan, do as the pretty lady says. You’re squishing her.” He prodded Dan with his fake axe, and Dan reluctantly released me. He wandered off to join Arin, Suzy, Natasha, Ross, and Holly, who were making their way out the door. It looked like we were leaving soon. Mir and Ryan also headed off, leaving Mark and I alone together.

“Whew. Thanks, Mark. It’s not that I don’t enjoy Dan’s hugs, but when he’s drunk he tends to hug a little harder.” I ran a hand through my hair to fix it from my hat being knocked off. Mark reached out and tucked a wayward strand of hair back behind my ear, and then placed my hat back on my head. I adjusted it slightly and gave him a warm smile in thanks.

“Not a problem, m’lady! It looks like we’re all heading out. Shall we?” He extended an arm to me, like a true gentleman. 

“Wait, hold on a minute. Have you pre-gamed at all? It’s no fair going sober to the maze when everyone else is already pretty buzzed.” I pulled out a flask from the small over-the-shoulder clutch I had on and handed it to him. He eyed me suspiciously.

“Ohh, trying to get me drunk, are we? Well, you fiery temptress, I won’t fall for your…witchy enchantments!” He opened the flask and gave it a sniff. Raising his eyebrows and smiling, I could see he recognized the hot, cinnamon smell of Fireball whiskey. Taking a big swig, he handed the flask back to me, and I watched as the spicy elixir slid down his throat. I grinned and felt myself blush.

“Well, Mr. Fischbach, I don’t need magic to make you fall under my spell.” I added a flourish of my hands for effect. I was proud of my successful flirtation (with the help of alcohol), and Mark gave me a surprised, but flirtatious look. He offered me his arm again. Taking it, we headed out the door to follow everyone else. As we walked, I spoke up again.

“Did you throw your costume together last-minute? I mean, lumberjack is a good look for you, but it kinda screams ‘lazy’ to me.” I teased him as we walked out to the parking lot. Everyone had gathered under a lamppost, arguing about whose care to take.

“HEY! My costume is awesome. Besides, the lucky flannel makes it look more authentic. It really completes the look.” Mark protested, holding his head high in indignation. I giggled.

“Well, maybe, but I think these complete the look more.” I reached up and snapped one of his suspenders against his chest. He yelped. I laughed and released his arm as we joined the group. He gave me a “this-means-war” look and I grinned. It was going to be a fun night indeed.

“Arin is driving in one car, but that can only fit four more people. So we’ll need one more car and everyone’s already too tipsy to drive. Looks like we’re gonna need Uber.” Ryan was a very functional drunk, but he was still drunk and couldn’t drive. Pulling out his phone, he ordered an Uber ride while Arin, Suzy, Dan, Ross, and Holly got into Arin’s car.

A black mini-van pulled up minutes later, and the Uber driver got out to help the rest of us into the car. Arin made sure we knew where we were going, and then got into his car.

“Meet you there!” Suzy squealed excitedly from the front passenger window as Arin’s car started up and headed off. Mark gave her a thumbs-up. Natasha sat in the passenger seat next to the driver, while Mir and Ryan sat in the two front back seats. Mark and I were seated in the far back. As soon as we were all buckled up, we told the Uber driver the address of the maze and were off.


	2. Game On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good at writing spooky scary things. I tried. And failed. But this is meant to be more romantic than terrifying. I have a not-so-tame version of this story, which I may or may not post later. It has a much darker ending though...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this based off the ONE haunted maze I have been to, so that's why this maze is actually not very terrifying. Sorryyyyyy

Arriving at the maze, we all stepped out of the car and heard screams echoing from within the cornfield. Mir and Natasha gave me excited “I-told-you-so” looks and I smiled back at them with a roll of my eyes. It was pretty crowded, so it looked like it was one of the most popular spots for Halloween night. We all reconvened in line for the maze after purchasing our tickets. Waiting in line and chattering excitedly, we speculated what might happen in the maze. Everyone was pretty relaxed and not paying attention to the people around us, but I knew better. Keeping my guard up, I spied several very creepily dressed workers slinking in and out of the line. They made their way to our group and, seeing I was aware of them, they ignored me and sought out more unaware targets.

“GROAAAAHHHHH!!” A bloody, masked clown roared and leapt onto Dan, Suzy, and Natasha. They emitted piercing shrieks of surprise that mingled with Miranda, Ross, and Holly’s (who were startled by a grotesque-looking man wielding a machete). I grinned at the performance, thoroughly glad I was not the victim this time.

“I think we need to loosen up a bit more. If you spook that easily, the maze might be too much for you all to handle!” I quipped, pulling out my flask again and passing it around. Everyone laughed and obligingly took a drink (except Arin).

After that, the group kept much more alert to people walking in and out of line, despite being even more inebriated. We were unsuccessfully scared as we waited the rest of our time in line for the maze. A few times, though, a man wearing a scarecrow outfit and mask that made his eye sockets look hollow would stagger-walk very convincingly past us, and Mark would shuffle closer to me.

“You okay, Mark?” I shot him a curious look the first time the scarecrow walked past the group and he closed the distance between us. He recovered quickly and put on his manly-macho façade.

“I’m great! Totally loving this. Just thought I’d make sure the scarecrow doesn’t spook ya.” He nudged me playfully, but I saw straight through that act of his. It was common knowledge that mannequins and scarecrows made him uneasy, especially with his recent playthrough of Until Dawn. But I was enjoying him being so close, so I wasn’t about to point that out. Finally we were at the front of the line, and the worker asked how many we had in our group.

“Ten.” Arin said, as Suzy clutched tighter to his arm in anticipation.

“Perfect! That’s the max number of people in a group allowed at a time!” She said. She had very pale makeup and was eerily cheery, and I was impressed with this surprising character working the front of the maze. She rattled through the rules rapidly. And by rapidly, I mean that none of us caught anything she spouted except “don’t get separated,” and that the safety word is “pumpkin.” We all threw apprehensive glances around at one another, and before we could say anything, were shoved through the plastic curtains guarding the maze entrance.

As soon as we entered, it became eerily quiet. We continued down the path wordlessly, and when we came to an intersection, three burly, hooded figures leapt from within the cornfield wielding chainsaws and sprinted wildly at the group. They swung the roaring machines at us. Several screams erupted from the troupe, me included. The figures came at us from three equally separate directions, and on flight instinct, the group became fractured. I sprinted as quickly as I could down one path, with Mark, Arin and Suzy behind me.  
We made it to another intersection, where four bloody figures dressed in scrubs emerged from the corn. They were wielding equally-bloody bone saws, and tactfully split the small group up even further. Arin and Suzy ran screaming down a path perpendicular to the way you came, while Mark and I bolted straight ahead. The medical figures lingered back at their intersection, but we ran for another minute or so just to be safe. Finally, we slowed to a stop to catch our breath.

“Holy…shit!” I managed between gasps of breath. Mark was shaking his head, laughing nervously as he tried to suck fresh air into his lungs.

“This is…really…fuckin’ intense!” Mark croaked. We caught our breath, and straightening up, took a good look at our surroundings. We listened carefully, and heard distant screams.

“Sounds like ‘Tasha and Miranda are getting a good scare.” Mark said, cocking his head again to listen further. More screams echoed over the dark field.

“And that was Ross and Danny.” I said, casting my eyes up and down the path. I jumped slightly as Mark laced his fingers in mine. I looked up at him with a hint of relief.

“Let’s not get separated further, okay?” He said, pulling me closer. I swallowed hard to try and alleviate the dryness and nodded. We continued down the path and made a few turns without being jumped. Another turn and ahead of us was a long stretch of path. At the end was a metal shipping container. The path was still and quiet. It was unsettling, and I leaned closer to Mark.

Suddenly, an engine rumbled to life behind us, mixing with the sound of scraping metal blades. After a glance behind his shoulder, Mark yanked my hand and we sprinted forward blindly. I don’t resist as the roaring engine grows louder and louder behind us. Headlights from the vehicle illuminated the path ahead of us, casting long shadows through the corn. Just as I thought we were going to be hit, or shredded to bits, Mark wraps his arm around my waist and together we jump forward into the mouth of the open shipping container.


	3. Mid-Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As an amateur fanfiction writer, I apologize that I can't write a very good suspenseful/dramatic scene. And that I always pull a "damsel in distress" scenario. I can't help it, and that is why I know I'm not cut out for being an actual writer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where I have another version that goes much darker, with a near-rape scenario and a very different relationship outcome later. I scrapped it because I always write or am tempted to write shit like that, and I know it's a cheap way to make a female character seem stronger by suffering through a traumatic sexual event. Also, I know this is a weirdly short chapter, and that's because I split these into chapters after finishing writing the whole thing. I'm not good at planning ahead when writing.

The container door slams shut behind us with a deafening clang. Engulfed in darkness and disoriented from tumbling into the metal room, I tentatively felt around the dark room for Mark. Something cold and wet met my fingertips, and I retracted them swiftly. I jerked my head up as I hear a muffled struggle in front of me, and quickly regain my footing in the darkness.

“M-Mark? Where are you?” I whispered anxiously. As if mocking my question, a bright light illuminated the container, casting harsh, black shadows throughout. Across the room, Mark was strapped with leather belts to a vertically-positioned hospital gurney. The floor was slick with a dark liquid that I assumed was fake blood, and I wrinkled my nose at the realization that I had rolled briefly in it. Mark was looking around in confusion, and I took a step forward to help him. Before I could, a heavy chain lassoed itself suddenly around my arms and waist. It tightened as quickly as it settled on my hips, and I was dragged backwards towards the wall opposite of Mark.

“Wh-what the fuck?!” I shrieked as I struggled fiercely against the restraint. Mark was making his own efforts to escape, with slight panic flashing in his eyes. This brought me no comfort, and I whipped my head around to see our captor. The scarecrow man who we had seen while waiting in line stood behind me, and was slowly drawing me closer with the chain. The cold chains ached and chilled me deeply as they pressed against me. But as Scarecrow’s hand snaked up my arm and wrapped its fingers around my neck, a bone-deep chill flowed through my veins like glacial water.

“DON’T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!” Mark bellowed, struggling harder.

I was taken aback by this surge of protectiveness. Scarecrow also seemed a bit stunned, and I used this moment to slip out of his grasp. Mark had freed a hand from the straps, and made quick work of the other straps. The chain around me loosened substantially, and I heard the container door behind me creak and swing open. The chain clanked loudly as it slid over my hips and dropped to the floor, and by the time I had stepped out of the metal restraint and turned around, Scarecrow was gone. I stifled a smirk as Mark quickly crossed the container. Turning back around to face him, I stumbled backwards as he collided and wrapped his arms around me.

“Oof! Whoa, Mark, it’s okay!” I muttered as he hugged me tighter.

His arms were warm, and sent ripples of comfort through my body. I realized I was shaking as he held me against his chest. His heart was pounding underneath his lucky flannel, and as I took another calming breath, I savored his woodsy and musky scent, now mixed heavily with adrenaline. I gently broke the hug, and looked up at him.

“We should keep going. The rest of the maze will be a breeze compared to this.” I laughed dryly, giving his arm an affectionate squeeze. He nodded.

“Yeah. I’ve had enough spooking for one night.” He said quietly, his voice rumbling in his throat. The velvety, baritone sound sent a shiver of pleasure through my spine. Lacing his hand in mine, we exited out the back of the container.

We walked quickly down the paths, making occasional turns towards the light of the parking lot. Finally, we had only one long stretch of path between us and the exit. A wave of relief washed over us as a chilly autumn breeze rustled through the cornstalks.

“Finally!” Mark and I exclaimed simultaneously. We locked eyes and laughed. I took a step forward, but Mark’s hand in mine kept me anchored as he remained still. I looked back at him, perplexed.

“What’s up, Mark? Let’s get outta here! I’m dying to get some hot apple cider.” I grinned. Pulling out my flask and giving it a quick shake to judge how much was left, I shook my head. “I’m gonna need a lot more Fireball than that in my cider to forget this maze.” He gave me a warm smile, and I blushed as his deep brown eyes swirled with intense affection.


	4. End Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A happy/sappy ending. Enjoy the cliches!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww sho shweet. Hope you enjoyed my trash fanfiction, I hopefully have more on the way, but I am very well known for starting stories and then hitting dead ends and never finishing/abandoning them. And yikes I am not very good at writing dialogue that is true to one's actual personality/speech mannerisms. Like, I know them so well and know all their usual habits and patterns, yet I can't translate that into text. Many have suffered from my ineptitude, and I apologize.

He stepped closer to me, and my breath hitched in my throat as his right hand gently cupped my face. He held my gaze with hooded eyes, and licked his lips with anticipation. I bit my lip briefly as he closed the distance between us again. Clenching my jaw, I swallowed the lump in my throat as the space between my lips and his were swiftly erased. It was soft at first, tentative. But once we knew we were on the same page, the kiss deepened.

He tasted like Fireball, sweet and cinnamon-y, and another flavor unique to him and him alone. His hands wound around my waist and pulled me flush to him. My hands quickly moved from his chest to the nape of his neck. I maneuvered my hands under his beanie and laced my fingers in his thick locks, trying my best not to knock the headgear off his head. He moaned softly and squeezed my waist gently, eliciting a smile and giggle from me, breaking the kiss.

“I’m ticklish there.” I said quietly, our foreheads resting on one another’s. He smiled and looked deep into my (E/C) eyes.

“Thanks for the tip.” He said huskily. I grinned but narrowed my eyes at him.

“Don’t you go abusing that information, mister.” I took a step back from him and straightened my dress. Remembering the fake blood I had rolled in earlier, I wrinkled my nose as I looked at my now-bloodied hands. “Yecch. I can’t wait to get out of this dress now.” Mark was swift at replying as lewdly as possible.

“I am more than happy to lend a helping-hand with that.” He was grinning idiotically and wiggled his eyebrows. I laughed and punched him softly on the arm, but could feel myself turning red.

“All in good time, Mark.” I said tactfully, now walking towards the exit. He quickly caught up and, taking my hand in his, fell into step with me.

As we exited the maze, hands interwoven together, I jumped slightly as cheers erupted to the left. The Grumps, Miranda, Ryan, and Natasha all stood under a maple tree, applauding as Mark and I made our way towards them. My face was growing hot with embarrassment; but as Mark removed his hand from mine and placed it around my waist, I relaxed significantly and leaned comfortably into him.

“It’s about goddamn time!” Arin exclaimed loudly, raising a mug of fresh apple cider to us.

“Yeah, slowpokes. Way to keep us waiting, I’m freezing my nips off over here.” Ross said cynically, quite oblivious to what Arin was really referring to.

“Goddammit, Ross.” Several of us chimed in unison. Ross’ confused expression brought a wave of laughter across the now-whole group.

We spent the next few hours talking and laughing about anything and everything in between. We would often turn our attention to the maze exit, as the most recent maze victims would sprint out screaming. As less people exited the maze in swift terror, we knew that they would soon be closing for the night. We made our way back to the parking lot, hailing an Uber car along the way.

A slightly drunk and confused scramble later, we were all loaded into our respective vehicles and on our way back to GrumpSpace. Safely back at the office, the group began to split, calling it a night. Miranda and Natasha gave me knowing and impish glances, departing for home and leaving me in the capable hands of Mark for the night. Alone in the refreshingly cool and dimly lit parking lot, Mark and I stood in comfortable silence, leaning against his car. Mark pulled his beanie off and sighed contentedly, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I had long-parted with my witch’s hat at the maze; it had become dirty beyond saving during the fiasco in the cornfield.

“You are uncharacteristically quiet.” I noted, resting my head comfortably on his chest. Mark smiled softly, moving his hand from my shoulder to my waist.

“How long have we been dancing around this for?” He wondered aloud, running a hand through his soft, pink curls. I shrugged.

“When did I move down here?” I asked back. He laughed, and I felt a deep satisfaction as I spied a blush creeping across his cheeks. A slight drizzle began to fall and I relished the feeling of cool droplets across my skin. Mark had a similar fondness for rain and had his face turned skyward in appreciation. I felt my (H/C) hair begin to grow heavy with moisture; I shook my head gently, spraying Mark in the process. He chuckled and gave me a challenging look.

“Alright, enough goofing around. I seriously do want to get out of this dress.” I admitted passively. Mark leapt at another opportunity to be a wise-guy.

“Those are some of my favorite things, though! Goofing around and undressing. Why can’t we do both? We could also do my other favorite thing…” He rambled, still managing to give me a flirty look and an eyebrow waggle with his last sentence. I rolled my eyes and silenced him with one swift move.

He seemed genuinely surprised by my bold kiss, but obviously didn’t complain. Pressing me against his car, he kissed me back, moaning deeply as I ground my hips against his. He wound his fingers through my hair and tugged gently and methodically, sending waves of tingles down my spine and across my skin. I protested silently when he broke the kiss.

“You are being uncharacteristically minx-y…and I love it.” He said softly against my neck. I giggled.

“You bring out the better in me I guess.” I replied, running my fingers through his cotton-candy pink hair. He leaned into my hand like a puppy and grinned cheekily.

“I can’t wait to see what the best of you is like.” He crooned. I blushed.

“Okay, you smooth-talker. Can we please get out of here so I don’t have to feel like I crawled through a slasher film?” I pleaded, wriggling uncomfortably in my dress. He took a step back and sighed.

“Fiiine. Your place…or mine?” He said with a slight English accent as he opened the passenger door for me. I smiled sweetly at him.

“Chateau Fischbach is closer, I believe.” I replied with a similar British lilt. He nodded, closing my door and making his way around to the driver seat.

“Then Chateau Fischbach it shall be. You can borrow some of my jammies.” He said, breaking his proper composure halfway through and falling back into his lovable and goofy vernacular. Rain fell heavier now, making a soft drumming against the roof of the car. It was my turn to sigh contentedly as Mark started the car. There are many reasons why I still love fall. Pumpkin-spice or not, I now had another reason to call autumn my favorite season.


End file.
